‘The Dark Tower’ Casts Newcomer Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers

One of the trickiest roles to cast in an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is that of Jake Chambers, the young boy who meets Roland Deschain during his journey in the first novel and becomes a key figure in the gunslinger’s story — not just once, but twice. He’s an incredibly vital member of the story, but given his age (11), the length of the series, and the impossibility of keeping a kid from growing up, Jake is easily the most difficult role to fill. But director Nikolaj Arcel has done it anyway, casting a relative newcomer in the long-awaited adaptation.

With each new addition to the cast, The Dark Tower becomes more and more tangible. Such is the case with Variety’s report that young actor Tom Taylor has been cast in the role of Jake Chambers, one of Roland’s three companions on his long journey to the titular tower. You probably don’t recognize Taylor, whose few credits include appearances on TV shows like The Last Kingdom and Legends, but that lack of recognition may serve him well in the film.

The Dark Tower stars Idris Elba as Roland, the last of the gunslingers in a world that has since moved on. Matthew McConaughey plays the villainous Man in Black, with Mad Max: Fury Road star Abbey Lee as a character named Tirana — a minor part from the seventh and final book that has apparently been repurposed for Arcel’s film.

Arcel will direct the film from an Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner screenplay, which he revised with Anders Thomas Jensen. The Dark Tower arrives on February 17, 2017.